1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to vacuum cleaners and in particular to vacuum cleaner hoses and means for providing selectively different hose end connectors on such hoses for use with opposite ends of the hose and with different configuration vacuum cleaners.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In one conventional form of vacuum cleaner, a suction unit may comprise a canister which houses a suction fan and dirt collecting means. Dirt laden air is delivered to the suction unit through a flexible hose which is connected to a floor cleaning unit by a wand. The floor unit may include electrically operable means, such as a rotary brush drive motor, and it is desirable to incorporate in the wand and flexible hose an electrical conductor means for providing electrical power from the canister to the floor unit electrical means.
The canister and wand may be provided with connector elements having any one of a plurality of different configurations and in the conventional hose constructions, hose end structures are provided which are adapted to mate with the specific connector means of the canister and wand. Such an arrangement raises the problem of mantaining a large stock of different hoses having different hose end connectors for use with the different connecting means of the different canister and floor unit structures.
The flexible hose structure is a relatively bulky structure and, thus, maintaining a stock of different specific model hose structures requires not only substantial stock space, but also presents problems in shipment and record keeping. One example of a hose end utilized in vacuum cleaner apparatus is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,949 of Donald L. Kleykamp et al. Therein, fittings are provided for attachment to the end of the flexible hose which are easily relatively rotatable. No electrical conducting means is associated with the hose construction.